Box Score    |    Final Stats

BILLINGS, Mont. – Coach Grant Leep was less concerned with the site of the game than he was the sight of a higher point total displayed next to "Seattle Pacific" on that arena's scoreboard.
 
Gavin Long equaled his career-high scoring output with 25 points Thursday, helping the SPU men stop a five-game road losing streak with a 75-70 win over Montana State Billings in a Great Northwest Athletic Conference basketball game at Alterowitz Gymnasium.
 
The Falcons (12-14) were victorious away from Seattle for the first time in the 2017 calendar year. Their last road win was a 79-77 decision at Alaska Fairbanks on Dec. 31.
 
"We were so focused on the things that we had to do tonight to be successful," said Leep, SPU's first-year head coach. "So whether it would have been played in Seattle or Billings, we just knew that this was a big game and our guys did a great job of recognizing that and playing hard."
 
SPU's league record improved to 8-10 after completing a season sweep against Billings (13-12).
 
The Yellowjackets are 8-9 in GNAC outings. This kept it much closer than their 94-75 setback on Jan. 21 in Seattle during which the Falcons shot 55 percent while limiting MSUB to 35 percent.
 
The Falcons kept alive their GNAC Tournament aspirations in hopes of placing among the top six in the regular-season standings to qualify for the conference playoff. They entered the game in ninth place, but only 1 ½ games out of fifth place in the congested GNAC field.

"I was really proud with how our guys competed," said Leep. "We didn't trail for much in that game. The way that we started was really big for us. Joe (Rasmussen) hit some big threes, Gavin made some key shots and we got Tony (Miller) a couple open looks."
 
After trailing for most of Thursday's game, Billings made it interesting at the end with a surge of seven straight points to draw within 67-66 with 3:24 left to play. Zack Lessinger capped that run with a 3-pointer, his second in a three-minute span that accounted for his only treys of the season.

 

Then Long was fouled and drained both free throws and Tony Miller scored on a drive in the lane to push the SPU lead out to 71-66. Sharif Khan (Bellevue HS) converted four shots from the line inside the final 15 seconds to preserve the outcome.
 
A 6-foot-5 freshman guard from Wenatchee (Wash.) High School, Long hit 9 of 12 shots from the field. He made all six of his free throws, grabbed six rebounds and distributed a team-high four assists.
 
"Gavin was just so efficient. He doesn't take bad shots and he's becoming more confident as an offensive player as the season goes on," said Leep.
 
"It's worked really well for us because Tony has been such a tough cover all year. He's starting to draw a lot of attention and now the more attention that teams pay to him, Gavin is giving us another threat with how he has matured and improved on the offensive side of the ball."
 
Senior center Joe Rasmussen (Mercer Island HS) collected 15 of his 22 points during the first-half for the Falcons, who also got 13 points from Miller (Woodinville HS).
 
Lessinger finished with 12 points for MSUB, Kendall Denham had 11 and Preston Beverly 10.
 
The visitors ended up shooting slightly better, hitting 45 percent of their attempts (26 of 58) to 42 percent (26 of 62) for Billings.
 
In the first half, Long scored six straight points to help his team open a 19-10 lead eight minutes into the contest. The margin increased to 27-16, helped by a pair of 3-pointers by Rasmussen.
 
The Yellowjackets missed their first 10 shots behind the arc, but finally got one from Denham, with 8:45 left in the half. They made their next two treys to close within 33-29.
 
The Falcons staged a 7-3 run over the final four minutes to claim a 40-32 halftime advantage.
 
SPU shot 43 percent (14 of 30) in the opening period, including 6 of 14 on treys, while holding their hosts at 25 percent (14 of 34) and 4 of 16 on 3-pointers.

 

The Falcons netted the first five points after halftime, on a layup by Long and a Rasmussen trey, to produce its largest lead, 45-32, before the Yellowjackets rallied.
 
Thursday capped a frenetic stretch of four game in eight days, which the SPU men weathered with a 3-1 record. They defeated Northwest Nazarene and Central Washington before losing to Saint Martin's on Tuesday.
 
For the second game in a row, SPU played without its second leading scorer (17.5 ppg) and rebounder (8.2 rpg), as sophomore Coleman Wooten (Tahoma HS) was sick. He did not travel to Billings.
 
A flurry of injuries has left Rasmussen as the only Falcon to start every game. Eight of the 16 players on the roster missed at least one game due to injury, including three with season-ending setbacks.
 
The SPU men get five days off from competition before concluding the regular season on the road next week. They visit Bellingham on Wednesday to clash with Western Washington before meeting Simon Fraser in Burnaby, B.C. on Saturday (Feb 25). Both games are slated for 7 p.m. start times.
 
"The rest is going to be huge. We'll get to take a couple days off and we'll get a couple practices in to prepare for the week ahead," Leep explained.
 
"The rest right now, and getting our legs fresh again, is going to be the most important thing. We need to be really smart about how we prepare and how we go about planning practices this week so that we do give our guys time to let their bodies heal and recover."
 
 
NCAA MEN'S BASKETBALL
Thursday, Feb. 16, 2017
Alterowitz Gymnasium / Billings, Mont.
 
Seattle Pacific 75, at Montana State Billings 70
 
SEATTLE PACIFIC (12-14, 8-10 GNAC)
Beverly 3-13 4-5 10, Tall 3-3 0-0 6, Anderson 3-9 1-2 9, Jeuschede 1-5 0-0 3, Matthews 3-5 1-2 9, Lessinger 5-7 0-0 12, Denham 4-9 2-2 11, Durr 2-5 0-0 5, Perry 1-5 0-0 3, Alcorn 1-1 0-0 2. Totals 26-62 8-11 70.
 
MONTANA STATE BILLINGS (13-12, 8-9 GNAC)
Preston 7-15 1-4 16, Kitchen 4-7 3-3 12, Jorg 2-4 0-0 4, Baerlocher 1-4 0-0 3, Copp 5-7 5-6 17, Kenilvort 5-14 0-2 15, Ingram 4-7 2-2 13, Lane 0-0 0-0 0, Ieronymides 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 28-58 11-17 80.
 
Seattle Pacific............ 40   35  --  75
Montana State Billings..... 32   38  --  70
 
3-point goals--SPU 8-24 (Rasmussen 4-8, Streufert 1-1, Eisenhower 1-6, Long 1-1, Miller 1-5, Khan 0-3), MSUB 10-33 (Lessinger 2-3, Matthews 2-4, Anderson 2-7, Jeuschede 1-4, Denham 1-3, Perry 1-3, Durr 1-1, Beverly 0-8). Fouled out--SPU-None, MSUB-Denham. Rebounds--SPU 37 (Streufert 7), MSUB 35 (Lessinger 8). Assists--SPU 12 (Long 4), MSUB 15 (Anderson 4). Total fouls--SPU 15, MSUB 18. Technical fouls--SPU-None, MSUB-None. A-654.
 
 
Next SPU Men's Basketball Game
Seattle Pacific at Western Washington
Wednesday, Feb. 22, 7:00 p.m. PST
Whatcom Pavilion / Bellingham, Wash.